WINNIPEG, MB - The City of Winnipeg was well represented when over 100 customer contact centres representing about 12,000 employees in Manitoba celebrated their best and brightest at the Manitoba Excellence in Contact Centre Achievements (MECCA) Awards on Thursday, November 15, 2012.
A member of the Manitoba Customer Contact Centre Association (MCCA), the City of Winnipeg - through its 311 Contact Centre, Water and Waste Department Water Billing Inquiry Line, and Handi-Transit Service Centre - received some important awards for people and organizational excellence.
People Awards were presented to recognize dedication to customer service by leaders, service representatives and support staff:
Manager/leader/supervisor of the year awards were presented to the following nominees:
- Rebecca Ford, Team Leader, 311 Contact Centre
- Brad Kotowski, Team Leader, Handi-Transit Service Centre
Representative of the year awards were presented to the following nominees:
- Shawn Knox, 311 Contact Centre
- Terri Bouvier, Handi-Transit Service Centre
- Vanessa Sarvis, Water Billing Inquiry Line
A partner (support services representative) of the year award was presented to the following nominee:
- Robert Johnston, 311 Contact Centre
In addition to the People awards, two of MECCA's Organization awards (Small Centres category - under 99 seats), were presented to the 311 Contact Centre by the MCCA judging committee:
- The Technology Award was presented to Melanie Swenarchuk, 311 Contact Centre Manager to recognize the Centre consistently meeting customer service needs by its use of hardware and software technology. This is the second year in a row that the Centre has won this award, demonstrating its commitment to using state-of-the-art technology to provide citizens with the best possible service.
- The Employee Satisfaction Award was also presented to Ms Swenarchuk. In receiving this award, she noted how rewarding it was for the Centre to be recognized by its own staff for providing career fulfillment and job satisfaction in their jobs serving Winnipeg citizens.
"The City of Winnipeg is proud that so many of our employees have been acknowledged for achieving excellence in contact centre service," said Mayor Sam Katz. "I'm also happy to see that our 311 Contact Centre received the Employee Satisfaction Award. This reflects the positive team environment that has been created at 311, allowing call centre staff to continue to do their best for the citizens of Winnipeg."
Winnipeg's 311 Contact Centre receives about 1.7 million calls per year.
In addition to receiving over seven million calls since the 311 Contact Centre opened in January 2009, the Centre recently processed its one millionth service request, has responded to approximately 180,000 email inquiries, and received more than 1,700 self-service requests submitted by citizens.
The Water Bill Inquiry Line manages customer inquiries regarding water and sewer bills from about 194,000 water and sewer accounts.
Handi-Transit provides door-to-door transportation for people who are unable to regularly use the fixed-route Winnipeg Transit system. Handi-Transit's customer service representatives answer over 29,000 calls per month.